August Goal Reflection: In August, I vowed to use running as a way to explore new places. These were four of my favorite runs. Two are from Summer Streets, when the city closes Park Avenue from 7am-1pm for three Saturdays in August. Walkers, runners, and bikers make their way from Central Park down to the Brooklyn Bridge. Another was a nighttime run in Midtown, which I’ve never done before. It felt like obstacle course racing to dodge cars and people, but the views were worth it. And finally, I haven’t been running on the East River in the past few months, so I completed a long run on the water and passed the Brooklyn Bridge on the way. Nike even featured this picture on their Facebook page! I had planned to make it to the beach in August but didn’t. In fact, I was kind of a (relaxed) homebody this summer. I have quite a bit of travel lined up for the fall–Denver, San Francisco, DC, and Charlotte!

September Goal Setting: After finally seeing the course map for the SF half, I decided it was time to start focusing on hill training. I ran Central Park’s outer loop, plus part of the bridal path, for yesterday’s long run. This included Cat Hill, Harlem Hill, and the infamous rolling hills of the West Side. While I kept a slow pace, I felt strong throughout the 9 miles. In September, I’m planning to incorporate more large hills into my long runs and to do hill repeats for some of my shorter runs. To everyone who looks at me like I’m crazy when I say I’m running a half in SF, I plan to eat those hills for breakfast on October 19.